The War Economy (2002)
The War Economy is a popular term used to refer to the state of the world from 1989 to the present day (2002). The War Economy itself was the set of military and business practices made popular and necessary by the worsening relationship between the east and west during the Cold War. It was structured around the concepts of Private Military Companies, heightened tensions between east and west, burgeoning weapons technology, a global arms trade, and endless contention over lands in Africa, the Middle East, South America, and parts of Asia. These factors combined led to the War Economy. ---- Major Aspects of the War Economy Heightened Cold War Tensions Unlike our world, the Soviet Union did not collapse in the 90s, and instead flourished due to the improvements in agricultural technology and successful government and leadership reforms that occurred from 1986-1988. The continued success of the USSR frightened the USA, resulting in the heightened tensions that fueled the War Economy that emerged 1 year later. The tension between both sides led to the complete standstill and halting of almost all Eastern Bloc and NATO military operations, out of fear that any action would be seen as a threat and cause a nuclear war. Instead, weapons technology was researched heavily in the hopes it would help themselves survive the coming war. Though the official armies themselves went stagnant, the need for combat and military might remained, and a new form of bloody business emerged as a major aspect of the War Economy. Private Military Companies Main Article: PMC Private Military Companies (PMC), also sometimes called a Private Force (PF), are private companies that provide armed combat or security services for financial gain. The first PMC, known as Blackwater, first emerged in 1985 and notably participated in the Lesotho Civil War after being hired by tribal insurgents. Blackwater was responsible for the assassination of King Moshoeshoe II in 1986, which led to the insurgents' taking control a few weeks later. Blackwater's involvement was the first example of a PMC participating in a conflict, and inspired many veterans around the world to form their own groups in the years following the war. PMCs in the War Economy replaced the traditional, official armies that had previously been the norm. As an independent army with no permanent allegiance to any particular country, they could be hired to participate in a proxy war without their clients getting in trouble for it, due to plausible deniability. Open conflict in the War Economy was still possible and occurred quite frequently, with all the fighting being done through PMCs and proxy wars. New Weapons & Arms Trading Under the War Economy, weapons development skyrocketed, as there was a need for powerful weapons to serve as nuclear deterrents. Development of weapons fell mainly into the hands of countries, such as the US, despite the fact that these countries would never actually use these weapons in combat. Often times, weapons research would lead to completely unrelated discoveries in other scientific fields. Small arms, heavy weapons, vehicles, and more obscure forms of weaponry are among the types developed. A list of War Economy weapons can be found here. These weapons, almost completely useless to the countries that make them, are often sold to PMCs as part of a massive arms trade. PMCs are usually too small to manufacture their own technology, and so they have to buy or rent weaponry from governments. Sometimes, countries gift PMCs free weaponry in return for service. Wars across the World While Cold War tensions prevented the East and West from directly fighting each other, the prevalence of PMCs and new weapons allowed for many wars (both proxy wars and normal wars) to erupt in less developed nations, mainly those in South America, Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. Wars would be fought over land, resources, and freedom, mainly fought between large hired armies and insurgency groups. A list of wars can be found here. The War Economy Cycle All these aspects worked together to create a never-ending cycle of war and money. Under the pressures of the Cold War, NATO and the Eastern Bloc focused heavily on the production of new weapons technology, which only threatened the other side more. Following the introduction of PMCs, the East and West would hire these groups to participate in proxy wars in place of the actual countries, pouring a lot of money or technology into them. These PMCs would oftentimes then purchase weaponry from the same countries that hired them, and use them in later proxy wars. In essence, money transfers from a sovereign state to a PMC to engage in a proxy war, and the PMC uses that money to fund themselves and to purchase new and better weaponry from a sovereign state, causing an endless cycle of money transfers and escalating warfare.Category:Doctrine